Review: Andrew Scott in Three Kings - a master in storytelling, compelling and gripping
05/09/2020
If you've ever seen Andrew Scott perform Simon Stephens' monologue Sea Wall you'll know he is a master storyteller, deftly lifting words off the page and turning them into something compelling and gripping.
Three Kings, beautifully written by Stephen Beresford, gives him even more scope to sprinkle his performance magic.
Created especially for the Old Vic's In Camera, it is described as a scratch performance but only the lack of embellishments like set and fancy lighting give any sign of this.
And who needs any of that anyway when you've got 60 minutes of you and Andrew Scott, albeit seen from the other side of a screen.
Funny and heartbreaking
Like Sea Wall, the power is in the story as it is told. And it is a powerful piece Scott drawing out the humour and heartache in equal measure.
Three Kings is about the relationship between a son and his an estranged father.
He meets him briefly at 8 years old but the meeting leaves an indelible mark which will go on shaping their relationship for many years.
His father leaves him a challenge of solving a puzzle involving three coins - the Three Kings of the title.
But it more than a simple test of puzzle-solving, solving this puzzle is hugely weighted.